Hi everyone! Today, I want to write a more heart-to-heart blog post for my fellow bloggers.
If you’re a current or aspiring blogger, you’ve probably heard that one of the most important parts of blogging, if you want to make an income from it, is providing value to your readers.
AKA writing for your readers, not for yourself.
…What gives? Isn’t blogging supposed to be a creative outlet? And I can’t even write for myself?
Kinda true, kinda not.
As a blogger, I can tell you that I’ve been discouraged, bored and unmotivated while writing blog posts in the past.
It’s not because I hated what I was writing. Actually, I wanted to write blog posts on those topics because I knew it would help people! The problem was that my heart just wasn’t in it like it may have been with other topics.
I know that bloggers often struggle with this, so I put together some ideas on how you can take a break from your usual content while still pleasing your readers.
Here are my tips on how you can write for yourself while also writing for your readers:
Put your personality into it
Who wants to write or read boring content? Show who you are and put your personality into your writing!
Add little details to your blog posts, type like you speak, bring your words to life.
This is actually one of my favorite parts of writing.
It’s called having a “Writer’s Voice“.
Your writer’s voice is the way your personality, emotions, tone and more shine through your writing.
You can create multiple writer’s voices depending on the type of content you’re writing. You can be stern, friendly, persuasive, vulnerable, the list goes on…
Need help finding your writer’s voice? Check out this in-depth blog post from SimpleWriting on developing your own writer’s voice.
Having a strong writer’s voice and putting your personality into your blog posts will help make the writing process much more enjoyable, even if you’re not exactly writing for yourself.
Share your personal experience
This is an easy thing to do when you’re writing reviews for products and/or services that you’ve used, but what about when you’re writing guides, tutorials, how-to’s or any other blog post meant particularly for the reader?
Tell your readers how the things you’re talking about helped/benefited you.
Sharing your personal experiences is nice for you, the blogger, because it will help you feel more like you’re writing for yourself.
But it will also help build trust between you and your readers.
Trust me, you’re readers probably want to read about your personal experiences! If it relates to the topic they’re reading about, it will help them get a clearer picture, make a better decision, etc. by taking your experience into account.
Write for yourself… But teach a lesson to your readers
If you can find a lesson in the topic that you’re wanting to talk about, go ahead and blog about it!
As bloggers, we often get caught up in perfection and avoiding “fluff” posts… But in the end, blogging is YOUR business!
If there’s something that you want to blog about that isn’t 100% catered to your readers, then that’s okay. I would recommend finding a lesson in what you’re wanting to blog about and highlighting that lesson in your blog post.
Writing a blog post for yourself that includes a lesson will allow you take a break from your usual content while still being beneficial to your readers.
Write to yourself, but address your readers
This is a great way to disguise a blog post that you want to write for yourself.
Write for yourself, but find a way to make it about your readers.
See if you can write more “you’s” instead of “I’s”.
Want to give yourself a pep talk? Advice? Recommendations or suggestions? Write it out and tell it to your readers instead of yourself.
Here’s my own example: I wrote this blog post on how to stay motivated to blog recently. The truth is that I was having a hard time getting myself to write blog posts at the time, so I wrote up some good tips on staying motivated and addressed them to my readers who might be having the same problem!
Solve a problem you’re dealing with. Tell your readers how they can solve the same problem.
Solving people’s problems is what we bloggers need to be able to do best!
As I’ve said multiple times (and will continue saying), the most important part of blogging as a business is providing value to your readers!
Solving problems IS valuable.
One of the main reasons why people read blogs is for help.
They’re searching for information, tools, products, solutions and anything else that will benefit them.
If you can solve a problem you have that’s related to your niche and tell your readers how they can solve it as well… You’re golden!
Share your mistakes. Tell your readers how to avoid making the same mistakes
This type of blog post is actually very helpful.
Your readers are likely on your blog because they want information from someone who is more experienced or has a different perspective than they do.
Naturally, your readers would probably be pretty interested in the mistakes you’ve made related to your niche so they don’t make the same ones.
I know it can feel quite vulnerable to share your mistakes, but your readers will surely appreciate it if you can work up the courage to do so.
Here’s my own example: I wrote a blog post on how I failed at making money with one of my previous blogs. Although it’s a bit embarrassing, I decided to share my story so new bloggers can avoid the mistakes that I made.
Share your success. Tell your readers how they can achieve the same success
This is another very helpful blog post you can write. You can share successes you’ve had and tell your readers how they can achieve the same success themselves!
Your readers are looking for good information that’ll benefit them, so they’d most likely appreciate a blog post that tells them how they can succeed.
Plus, sharing your success helps you establish authority and credibility in your niche.
Here’s my own example: I wrote a blog post about how I made my first dollar on a blog that I started last year. I got to tell my story while also sharing helpful tips for new bloggers who are hoping to earn money from their blogs!
Use your story to inspire your readers and relate too them
If you have an inspirational story that relates to your niche, share it!
Your readers will love being able to see how far you’ve come, especially if you can inspire them to achieve similar things.
And as the blogger, it’ll be nice for you to put your story out there.
Here’s a really great example: Sarah Titus, a blogger and Shopify store owner, shared her incredibly inspirational story on how she went from being in a homeless shelter to becoming a millionaire.
Final thoughts
It may be your job as a blogger to provide valuable information to your readers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t write what YOU want to write.
When it all comes down to it, here’s the key: If you can teach a good lesson to your readers that pertains to you niche, it’s worth writing.